A Pop Culture-ish Rendition of Stereotypes for Tourist Money?
For someone who has not been to one of the most famous "shows" for tourists in Tokyo, it could be a bit difficult to understand what all the fuss is really about. The Robot Restaurant in Kabukicho, the reputed red-light district of Tokyo, offers a robot-themed show, about one-and-a-half hours long, for 8000 Yen (slightly less than 80 USD at the current exchange rate). Dinners-in-a-box that look (and taste) like they are sourced directly from the local convenience stores sell for a highly inflated 1000-2000 Yen each on top of the 8000-yen entrance fee. Extra spending is needed for canned drinks and popcorn, going for 500-1000 yen each.
Clearly, the Robot Restaurant has made the business model work quite profitably. The Resturant's rather narrow interior, with a central opening for the "stage" and three rows of classroom-style (and perhaps even more cramped than the regular classroom) seats and "desks" are completely filled with foreign travelers day in and day out. Even with only two hundred spectators for each show, and three to four shows per day, the revenue from food, drinks, and the entrance fee can accumulate to quite an amount. Close to 10 million yen a day in earnings from drunken, spendthrifty foreigners can pay for quite a bit of salary and operational costs.
Yet, after even a few minutes of watching the show, the initial sense of skepticism, that the whole thing is a rip-off designed to lure unsuspecting travelers into an expensive tourist trap, subsides. What replaces it is a rather dismaying and grudging sense of recognition that people who design these shows really have the foreign tourist mindset figured out. Those who attend are provided with something that is so memorable that, while unlikely to generate repeat customers, is definitely enough for the word of mouth to spread enough to continue bringing more and more newcomers who visit out of curiosity.
To put simply, the success of the Robot Restaurant show lies in iterating stereotypes of what Japan is in the eyes of foreigners in a familiar setting of fast-paced pop music and club-like ambiance. Tourists' impression of Japan as a place that mixes tradition and modernity is widely confirmed in the show with the casual integration of the Japanese traditional festival (reflected in the actors' old-fashioned clothing, dances, and instruments), folk storytelling, and modern technology (illustrated by robots, neon lights, lasers, and street-dancing). The fast pace of the show's structure reminds, however, not of Japan but of European techno.
The results is an engrossing performance that leaves the audience glued to the colorful costumes and lights, burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of the exaggerated dances and robotic fights, all the while bopping their heads and tapping their feet at the thumping music. Combine that with plenty of alcohol that flows during the show's two intermissions, and it is clear that the audience who pay the 8000 yen for entrance is forgetting how mundane their dinners, how cramped their seats, and how expensive the ticket and the drinks. There is no doubt that they are enjoying the spectacle.
The success of the Robot Restaurant's shows presents both a shortcoming and an opportunity for the tourist industry in Japan and elsewhere. Many travelers, especially those who repeatedly visit a certain country or region, simply doing the usual sightseeing and shopping is no longer enough to satisfy their purpose for travel. They expect to be entertained by experiences, however unusual and sometimes out-of-the-line. At the same time, they want to be reminded that they are in a foreign land, where plenty of exotic elements stimulate their senses and understanding of the world.
The show at the Robot Restaurant provides the kind of experiences that such tourists would want, but unfortunately, such shows remain extremely rare, especially in a Japan where whatever services available can often explicitly and implicitly exclude foreigners. The result is a tourist crowd that is often bored, especially at night when the sightseeing spots are closed and entertainment venues can be difficult to navigate for people who do not understand the local language. As shown by the sold-out shows of the Robot Restaurant, real demand for more tailored entertainment options is present and largely unfulfilled.
As foreign tourism becomes a more lucrative business, and more firms enter the market, it is likely that the situation will gradually change. The Thailand model, where locals specifically create activities, entertainment, and services specifically for foreigners, only with a slight veneer of the local cultural imprint, may become the norm in many more places around the world. When that day arrives, the idea, of the local culture being mixed to and modified to cater particularly to what nonlocals may find worthy of spending money on, would become more mainstream. The gaudy yet effective designs of the Robot Restaurant will no longer be a novelty.
Clearly, the Robot Restaurant has made the business model work quite profitably. The Resturant's rather narrow interior, with a central opening for the "stage" and three rows of classroom-style (and perhaps even more cramped than the regular classroom) seats and "desks" are completely filled with foreign travelers day in and day out. Even with only two hundred spectators for each show, and three to four shows per day, the revenue from food, drinks, and the entrance fee can accumulate to quite an amount. Close to 10 million yen a day in earnings from drunken, spendthrifty foreigners can pay for quite a bit of salary and operational costs.
Yet, after even a few minutes of watching the show, the initial sense of skepticism, that the whole thing is a rip-off designed to lure unsuspecting travelers into an expensive tourist trap, subsides. What replaces it is a rather dismaying and grudging sense of recognition that people who design these shows really have the foreign tourist mindset figured out. Those who attend are provided with something that is so memorable that, while unlikely to generate repeat customers, is definitely enough for the word of mouth to spread enough to continue bringing more and more newcomers who visit out of curiosity.
To put simply, the success of the Robot Restaurant show lies in iterating stereotypes of what Japan is in the eyes of foreigners in a familiar setting of fast-paced pop music and club-like ambiance. Tourists' impression of Japan as a place that mixes tradition and modernity is widely confirmed in the show with the casual integration of the Japanese traditional festival (reflected in the actors' old-fashioned clothing, dances, and instruments), folk storytelling, and modern technology (illustrated by robots, neon lights, lasers, and street-dancing). The fast pace of the show's structure reminds, however, not of Japan but of European techno.
The results is an engrossing performance that leaves the audience glued to the colorful costumes and lights, burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of the exaggerated dances and robotic fights, all the while bopping their heads and tapping their feet at the thumping music. Combine that with plenty of alcohol that flows during the show's two intermissions, and it is clear that the audience who pay the 8000 yen for entrance is forgetting how mundane their dinners, how cramped their seats, and how expensive the ticket and the drinks. There is no doubt that they are enjoying the spectacle.
The success of the Robot Restaurant's shows presents both a shortcoming and an opportunity for the tourist industry in Japan and elsewhere. Many travelers, especially those who repeatedly visit a certain country or region, simply doing the usual sightseeing and shopping is no longer enough to satisfy their purpose for travel. They expect to be entertained by experiences, however unusual and sometimes out-of-the-line. At the same time, they want to be reminded that they are in a foreign land, where plenty of exotic elements stimulate their senses and understanding of the world.
The show at the Robot Restaurant provides the kind of experiences that such tourists would want, but unfortunately, such shows remain extremely rare, especially in a Japan where whatever services available can often explicitly and implicitly exclude foreigners. The result is a tourist crowd that is often bored, especially at night when the sightseeing spots are closed and entertainment venues can be difficult to navigate for people who do not understand the local language. As shown by the sold-out shows of the Robot Restaurant, real demand for more tailored entertainment options is present and largely unfulfilled.
As foreign tourism becomes a more lucrative business, and more firms enter the market, it is likely that the situation will gradually change. The Thailand model, where locals specifically create activities, entertainment, and services specifically for foreigners, only with a slight veneer of the local cultural imprint, may become the norm in many more places around the world. When that day arrives, the idea, of the local culture being mixed to and modified to cater particularly to what nonlocals may find worthy of spending money on, would become more mainstream. The gaudy yet effective designs of the Robot Restaurant will no longer be a novelty.
Comments
Post a Comment